#ReformTheOriginality – Smartphones Need A Design Revolution !

July 2, 2017

So, today we’re introducing a brand new series called, #ReformTheOriginality that’ll point out the problems in the Tech industry & try to create a better awareness among the Smartphone Manufacturers as well as the Smartphone Users. In this current industry, it looks like not all the manufacturers are seeking Innovation & Originality. It’ll normally be one brand that comes up with a new concept & some other brands start replicating it. It’s not a complete replication every time as most of time the brands add a minor touch of their own & try to prove that their concept is different.

But, that’s where the real definition of Innovation does not satisfy any of it’s conditions. So, I don’t know why manufacturers are jumping into the Replication Track but, that’s definitely not the right track for Innovation. We expect that, this series will actually make a call in the Industry & at least some Manufacturers will actually listen to that call.

For the consumer though, this series should be a Decision Making one. You guys must get the clear idea from this series & make a clear decision on Which brands are worthy to consider & Which ones are not.

Now, let’s come to today’s topic that’s all about the design of the Smartphones. So, you must have seen the recent trend of Replication Of Design From The Front Row Brands. The best example of this must be the replication of the iPhone designs. We have seen a lot of iPhone clones right ?

Mainly, some Chinese brands that actually have a very well reputation in the market, are in this replication thing from a long time. No matter what kind of Hardware they’re packing inside, the outside almost every time looks like an iPhone. Seeing these devices from the back tells the complete story. If you replace the brand logo with the Apple logo, some devices will completely or partially replicate the iPhone. In some cases even the User Interface replicates the iPhone.

Recently, we saw a lot of examples for this & the recent addition to this list is the OnePlus Five. This device is almost a Xerox copy of the iPhone 7 Plus and this was quite an unexpected move from OnePlus cause, they have implemented some really great & genuine designs in the past. But, this thing was like a step down from from what they used to do.

Image Courtesy : The Verge

It’s not only OnePlus by the way. We have seen some other brands like Oppo, Vivo who have made many phones that kinda replicate the iPhone from the outside but, that’s not the whole story here. In this case, even the UI of these brands replicate the iPhone a lot. The icons are almost identical to the iOS icons. But, why are the brands doing this ? Well, cause many people love iPhone clones.

So, yeah maybe a sad truth but there are many people out there who love to have a phone that looks like an iPhone. That’s definitely either because they want to stick with Android with an iPhone feel or they have a low budget. So, it’s understandable that making the phone look like an iPhone is the easiest way to attract customers & make profit from it.

Apple is not the only brand that is being replicated though. Samsung is also a well known brand for being cloned. We have seen many brands replicating the design language of Samsung in the past few years but, the good news is now, there are very few Samsung clones out there. It’s like the brands are replicating only iPhone these days. In the newly launched devices, only the Mi 6 from Xiaomi kinda replicates the Samsung S7 Edge so, that’s the only phone that replicates the last gen Samsung flagship. It’s not a direct copy though but, it looks quite similar.

But, hey great designs came from Originality right ? Apple made the iPhone designs that were a revolution to the Smartphone industry. Samsung made these crazy edge designs that showed the world that extraordinary designs can exist. Also, ASUS have showed that light reflections can be used as design elements with their Concentric design language. LG & HTC are also trying to improve their own design languages that have gifted the industry, phones like the LG G6 & HTC U11.

So, here is what we want to say to the Brands that are Replicating designs :

It’s understandable that replicating designs are an easy to to make revenue. But, great designs only come from originality & replication leaves no space for that. If you guys want to stay in the Industry & that too in a honorable way, please stop replicating. Show us your own innovations & always tend to surprise us with them. This will not only improve your market image but, also reform the Design segment of the Smartphone industry & every phone that the industry gets will be awesome to look at.

To the Consumer :

Please, keep away from the replicated smartphone designs. Support the brands that make their own design. This will also push those replicator brands for making their own designs & try something innovative everytime. Supporting them means they’ll probably not try anything innovative & keep making clones. That’s a huge loss for both the Industry & the Consumer. So, please support brands with Innovative minds & Genuine design languages only.

So, that’s all for this article. We’ll back soon with the 2nd Article of this series so, keep checking back in case you think that we are in the right way. Also, tell us what your thinking is about this issue in the comment section below. If you agree to this approach, spread it with the hashtag #ReformTheOriginality on your Social media platforms. This can help to create a better awareness among the brands & the consumers as well. Let’s head towards a better & innovative Tech Industry together.